Mammals

Found in India, Nepal and Sri Lanka, these deer are characterized by their slender body shape. At certain times of the year they have white spots on their fawn-coloured fur. They live mostly in open habitats, presumably so that they can see approaching predators.

The single species of aye-aye is a nocturnal, arboreal animal, found in the dense forests of Madagascar. These strange creatures were originally classified as rodents, but now they are recognized as the largest of the nocturnal primates.

The babirusa’s canine teeth are greatly elongated to form tusks that resemble horns. This feature is the reason for its alternative name of "deer hog". There are probably little more than 4,000 of these wild pigs roaming the Indonesian forests of Sulawesi.

There are 5 variety of baboon living in Africa, although some are known to be able to interbreed, leading some scientists to suggest that they are just different varieties or subspecies. They will not stray far from water.

Archaeological evidence has revealed that Bactrian, or two-humped, camels were first domesticated around 2500 BC. It used to be believed that the one-humped, or dromedary, camel evolved from domesticated Bactrian camels.

European badgers are unusual because they live in groups, described as clans. They inhabit a network of underground tunnels and larger chambers known as setts. European badgers emerge above ground to seek food as darkness falls.

Bilbies, or rabbit-eared bandicoots, belong to a distinct group of marsupials with 22 species, all of which live in Australia, Tasmania, New Guinea and on some of the surrounding islands. They are characterized by their long, pointed muzzles, and have hind legs.

As their name suggests, barbary sheep originally came from the Barbary Coast - the old name for the Magreb region in north-western Africa. The sheep’s local name is “aoudad”. Today the species is rare in its homeland but has been introduced to Germany.

Unlike other canids, these small foxes are largely insectivorous in their feeding habits, hunting mainly locusts and termites, although they will also take bigger prey. Bat-eared foxes have very large ears that listen for the movements of harvester termites.

Bears are the largest carnivores on land. However, many bears consume high proportions of vegetation in their diets - as much as 95 per cent in some species. Bears have small eyes and ears and large snouts. Their sense of smell is extremely well developed.